Time Heals All Wounds
by BabsGordon95
Summary: Jason is still gone. Ronnie tries to keep her life in order, but with school over, she has nothing to keep her distracted. Tim helps her, but sometimes it's not enough. When life takes an unexpected turn, it leads Ronnie in the opposite direction of where she was headed. Can Ronnie keep her head on straight as she tries to keep her new family together? Sequel to Taking Chances.
1. Appointments

**AN: Well, here it is. The sequel to Taking Chances. I hope you enjoy this insallment as much as the first one! I like the twists and turns in this story so please, enjoy, review and comment. I take constructive criticism very well and I love hearing it. Shout out to Just A Bipolar Bear for being so helpful with my last story! I hope you keep sharing thoughts on this story!**

Summer represents freedom and adventure. And unexpected, but pleasant, surprises.

"I really feel like quoting _Lion King_ right now."

I turn and look at Tim. We're on the roof of Wayne Manor staring up at the stars. Tim's been my best friend since both Jason _and_ Kim went away, for different reasons of course. Kim's parents moved away from Gotham, taking her with them. Jason left on his own.

School ended last week and I'm already bored of summer. Schoolwork kept me busy along with graduation, but now I just sit around and wait for college.

"You start quoting Disney movies and I will punch your lights out," I warn him. I love Disney movies, but one in my position can only take so much of their sappy love stories.

"Whatever," Tim laughs. Changing the subject, he asks, "Anymore letters lately?"

I shake my head, "Not for about three weeks. They're always short and vague anyway." I deepen my voice, mocking Jason's letters, "_Ronnie, I'm safe. Only scratch from Roy playing around with his crossbow. Hope you're safe. J._" I scoff out of frustration. "I could be dead for all he knows. There's no return address, so it's not like I can say, 'Hey, yeah, I'm safe. Will you come home soon?'"

"Give it time."

I sigh, "It's been three months, Tim. Three months of not knowing what he's doing, if he's really safe. It's frustrating."

"I know, but–"

"_I'm an angel with a shotgun, fighting til the war's won._"

Tim snorts, "You still have that as your ringtone?"

"Never changing it," I give Tim a have smile. I answer my phone, "Hello?"

"_Hello, Ronnie, this is Debbie with Dr. Neeson's office and I'm calling to inform you that you are due for a tetanus shot update._"

Weird. "Really? Okay, um I guess I can go ahead make an appointment–"

"_Your mother already made the appointment for four o'clock tomorrow. We'll see you then._"_Click._

I look at my phone and blink. "Well, that was forceful."

"What's up?" Tim asks, propping himself up his elbows.

"I have an appointment for a shot update."

Tim raises an eyebrow. "They just made you take that appointment?"

I nod, "Pretty much."

"That has to be illegal."

"Whatever," I shrug, "better than getting sick and ending up in the hospital. Again."

"Hey, at least you were in a coma for most of your time there." Tim, always the optimist.

"Yeah," I yawn. "I need to get home."

"Okay," Tim gets up and makes his way through the window, but then turns around and looks at me. "Any luck with your brother?"

I shake my head heavily. "He still only talks to Mom. And only on the phone. He never stops by."

"I'm sorry."

"Not your fault." I've been saying that a lot lately. Especially to my mom, when I see her. She thought Carson and I would make up after a week. But here we are three months later.

Whatever. Carson's a stubborn ass.

*()*()*()*()*

With nothing else to do and Mom taking extra shifts at the hospital, I pretty much watch TV until it's time for me to get ready and go to that stupid appointment.

After paying the cabbie, I walk into the doctor's office at 3:55. I've sat down for five minutes when I'm ushered into an examination room. It's strange because usually I'm sitting there forever and then they have to weigh me, take my temperature and all those other things that I dread. I'm not complaining, it's just… weird.

Almost as soon as I've planted my butt on the examination table, a blonde woman in a lab coat come in holding a tray with two syringes resting on it.

"Hello, Ronnie," the woman says, smiling.

"Um, hi." She must be new. I definitely don't recognize her.

"This will be really quick. It's a new vaccine so it takes two shots. One in the arm and one in the stomach."

"Oh, goody," I mumble. It's not that I'm scared of needles, I'm not. That doesn't mean I have to enjoy being stuck with them.

The overly-joyful nurse sterilizes a spot on my upper right arm and then stabs the needle in. I flinch at first impact, but then relax quickly. She has me lie down and pull my shirt up to expose my stomach. Again, she sterilizes a spot and sticks the other needle in. This needle is slightly thicker than the first one and its cartridge is covered. Alright, strange.

"Okay, you are all done," the nurse says as I sit up.

On my way out of the office, my cell rings. "Hello?"

"_Hey Ronnie, its Tim_."

I smile, "Hey Tim. What's up?"

"_Bruce has a benefit tomorrow night and I really need some company beyond rich old people_."

I flinch. Parties aren't really my thing. "What about Dick?"

"_He has a date and there'll be no getting his attention. So…_"

"I don't know, Tim. I don't really have anything to wear."

"_All taken care of. What do you say?_"

I don't normally like fancy parties. Dresses are hard to move in. But Tim sounds desperate and I am his friend. And I can probably drop the Wendy-waiting-for-Peter routine for one night.

"Okay," I sigh, "I'll do it."


	2. About Time

**AN: Hey everybody! I am so sorry that this has taken forever! School has been painfully busy! But this chapter is nice and long so I hope you enjoy!**

"Breathe," I tell myself, "Just breathe."

After a stylist and hairdresser get done tugging and pulling at me, I'm standing off to the side of the top of the grand staircase at Wayne Manor as the party waits at the bottom. I have to remind myself that I don't look stupid.

My hair is curled in a half-up, half-down look and my makeup is subtle but still makes my eyes shine. The stylist out me into a simple black A-line chiffon dress with spaghetti straps. The torso is dressed with crystals sparingly.

"The first step is the hardest, Miss Reid," Alfred says behind me. He moves so he's in front of me and offers me his arm, "But it helps to have some support."

"Thank you, Alfred." I take his arm and we make our way down the steps.

The guests must have already made their way to the ballroom because the only ones waiting for me are Tim, Dick and his date, Barbara Gordon.

"Wow," Tim exclaims when we reach the bottom, "you look great."

"She is a jewel," Alfred agrees. He turns to me, "I leave you in good hands, Miss Reid. I know you will enjoy tonight." He bows and leaves. I can't but feel, with that twinkle in Alfred's eye, that he knows something. I shrug it off.

"Dancing's already started," Dick says. "Let's go show those old-timers how it's done.

Tim offers me his arm (slightly less fluid then Alfred's offer) and we follow Dick and Barbara into the ballroom.

Over a hundred richly clad people fill the room, dancing, drinking, talking and overall having a merry time. I try to enjoy myself, but it's hard. This isn't really my scene and I know absolutely no one. Tim was by my side at the beginning, but then Bruce dragged Tim away to meet some of his investors. Bruce was smiling mischievously at me, a strange emotion coming from him.

I've been sitting a chair at a table by myself being a wallflower for what seems like hours when Tim approaches me.

"May I have this dance?" he asks me.

I'm giggling so hard at Tim with his bowed waist and extended hand that I can't say no. he leads me out into the very middle of the dance floor before putting his hand on my waist and waltzing with me.

"I'm apologizing ahead of time if I step on your toes," I say.

Tim raises an eyebrow. "Dancing not your forte?"

I grimace, "More like heels."

"You came down the stairs just fine."

I smile, "It helps to have some support."

Tim opens his mouth to answer–

"I agree."

I turn around slowly. It's really him, all dressed up in a black tailored suit.

"Jason!" I throw myself into his arms with a hug that threatens to never let him go.

Looking at Tim, Jason asks, "May I cut in?"

"Totally," Tim answers. "I've been wondering when you'd show up."

Jason shrugs, "Sorry, Roy got sidetracked."

Tim nods and walks off as Jason and I start dancing.

"Did Bruce put this all together?" I ask.

"Actually, he did," he answers. "We're… starting to get on good terms."

"Only because he really cares about me," I smile.

Jason scrunches his eyebrows, "That's actually a very true possibility."

I laugh and then ask another question that has been on my lips since he got there, "Do I get to meet Roy?"

Jason shakes his heads. "No. He's starting some business we have to take care of." The look in Jason's eye and his words make me stop dancing and pull away from him.

"You're not staying, are you?"

"No," he sighs. "I'm only staying for a few days."

I roll my eyes with a disgusted scoff and start walking away from him, but Jason grabs my hand and gently tugs me back into his arms.

"Dance with me," Jason whispers in my ear. "I haven't seen you in months."

I let him hold me on the dance floor because my ache for his touch greatly outweighs my anger and frustration.

After a few waltzes danced in silence, I lead Jason away from the dance floor and to a door that leads outside to the garden. Among the roses, Jason pulls me close and for the first time in what feels like forever I feel his lips on mine. For this little amount of time, every bit of frustration Jason has given me is gone. Seeing him and feeling his touch is enough. For now.

"Oops, excuse me."

Jason and I break apart to find we aren't alone. A man in his late 50s is standing about five feet away about to light a cigar. I can feel the blood rushing to my cheeks.

"Evening, Sir," Jason nods.

"You kids be careful," the man nods back. He lights the cigar and takes a big huff as he walks away.

The smoke drifts towards us and the second the smoke hits my nostrils my stomach begins to churn. I run off behind a bush and release my dinner onto the grass.

"Ronnie, are you okay?" Jason asks, his hand rubbing my back.

"Yeah, I'm fine now," I reassure him. "That smoke just got to me."

Jason's skeptical. "Are you sure?"

I nod, "But I'm ready to call it a night."

"Well then," Jason scoops me up into his arms, "let's go."

He takes me around to a separate door in the wall that leads up a few flights of stairs and into a hallway. We come to the door on the left side right in the middle of the hallway. I recognize the door. Jason opens the door with ease to reveal a modestly decorated bedroom. The room I had gotten dressed in earlier. What did they _not_ have planned?

Jason sets me down on the bed and goes into the bathroom, shutting the door behind him.

I undo my hair and unzip my dress, thankful I had won the argument with the stylist for a bra. With straps. On the bed beside me is my tank top and shorts I had worn earlier today. Denim isn't the most comfortable thing to sleep in so I throw those on the floor and slip on the top.

Just as I slip into the covers, Jason comes out of the bathroom, his tie and jacket gone and his white shirt unbuttoned revealing his chiseled chest underneath. He comes up to me and kisses my forehead.

"Good night," he whispers. He starts to walk away, but I grab his arm.

"Stay," I whisper back.

He smiles at me. "Okay."

I scoot over and Jason slips under the covers beside me. I snuggle in close in Jason's arms and close my eyes.

In case you were wondering, that's all that happen. I just fell asleep with Jason beside me.

And it was perfect.


	3. Cravings and Car Rides

"Time to wake up."

I groan and dig my face deeper into the pillow.

"I have a spray bottle."

"Do it and you won't be able to hold a gun for a month," I growl.

"That doesn't bother me. I don't use a gun."

_Wait. What?_ I shoot up to find Tim standing in the doorway, no spray bottle in sight. I look over to find the space next to me in the bed empty.

"Sorry, Tim," I say. "I thought you were Jason." I look at the other side of the bed. "Where is he, anyway?"

Tim flinches back, "Roy called."

I don't know why, but my eyes start watering and a tear falls down my cheek. I'm upset that Jason left me alone, but I'm usually better at hiding things like this. The rejection hurts.

I throw the covers off of my and stand up. Apparently, I stand up too quickly because my head starts to spin. I hold out my arms to balance myself as Tim runs forward to keep me from falling. My stomach begins to churn, again, and I run into the bathroom.

Bile comes up my throat and out my mouth, landing in the toilet. Tim wets a washcloth and holds it out to me.

"Thanks." I take the washcloth and wipe my mouth.

"Are you okay?" Tim asks. "Should I go get Alfred?"

I shake my head, "No. No, I'm fine now." My stomach rumbles. "Actually, I could use some breakfast."

Tim smiles, "Well, that's why I came to get you."

I stand up, "Let's go!" I grab my shorts and tug them on as I walk out of the room with Tim behind me.

The kitchen smells incredible to point where my mouth is watering.

"Whatcha makin', Alfred?" I ask as I sit down at the island counter.

"Master Tim's favorite, Miss Reid," Alfred answers, "eggs and bacon."

I get a sudden craving. "Do you take requests?"

He smiles. "Of course. What would you like in your eggs, Miss Reid?"

"Cheese and garlic. Lots of garlic."

Alfred's hands freeze and Tim chokes on his milk.

"Ronnie, you hate garlic," Tim comments. It's true and he would know, I eat here all the time.

"I just have a craving, sheesh." I stand up, "Speaking of cravings…" I make my way over to the freezer and pray what I am looking for is still there. "Yes!" I take out the tub of Blue Bell Bunny Tracks I had stored in the freezer weeks ago, grab a spoon and dig in.

"Um, Ronnie," Tim says, "are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," I say through a mouthful of ice cream.

"Your eggs are done, Miss Reid," Alfred calls, his voice strained.

I replace the ice cream and sit back down. "Thanks, Alfred."

I all but inhale my breakfast. I'm done before Tim is even halfway through his.

I go back up stairs to shower and brush my teeth. When I come out of the bathroom, I find my shorts, cleaned and folded, waiting on my bed beside a button up red flannel shirt. The shirt is too big (probably Jason's or Tim's) so I roll the sleeves up to my elbows and leave it unbuttoned with my tank top underneath.

_Knock, knock, knock._

"Come in!" I call out. Tim opens the door. He's tense, rubbing the back of his neck. I ask, "What's up?"

"Do… do you wanna go for a ride? A car ride?"

"Um, sure. Why not?" I slip on my low top converse and follow Tim down the stairs in silence. We reach the garage and climb into the Bentley. Tim seems upset when he turns on the vehicle.

"Tim, what's wrong?" I ask, worried.

Tim just shakes his head as he peels out of the garage. After five or so minutes of silence, I decide I've enough.

"Tim, I swear, if you don't explain to me what the hell all this is about, I'm jumping out of this car."

My threat works.

Tim sighs, "You're not going to like it and Jason'll kill me when he finds out, but…"

I put my hand on his arm. "Tim."

"I'm going to tell you what Jason has been doing for three months." Tim looks over at me, confliction in his eyes. "And I'm gonna start with the fact that it wasn't just Jason and Roy. Someone else was with them. Someone Jason doesn't want you to know about."

*()*()*()*()*

Pissed off. That's exactly what I am when Tim drops me off at my apartment after our conversation, which dragged on until sundown. It's hard to believe everything that Tim told me, but at the same time, it's so easy to believe. It was so Jason.

Too emotional to really do anything, I strip and climb into my bed, throwing the covers over me.

At this moment in time, I'm so hurt that I would be perfectly fine if Jason just disappeared again and didn't come back. Disappearing is what he's good at anyway.


	4. Blood Tests

I roll out of bed the next morning around 10. Mom's already gone to spend the day with her girlfriends. I make my way to the kitchen and dig through the refrigerator. I'm about to put bread into the toaster when a familiar feeling hits.

"Shit. Not again," I groan. I run to the bathroom and hurl. I cradle my head in my hands and think about when this started. "It had to be the vaccine."

I crawl to my bedroom and pull my cell phone out of my shorts pocket, scrolling through my recent calls until I hit the doctor's office number.

_Rrrriiinnnnnggggg._

"_Hello, this is Debbie with Dr. Neeson's office, how may I help you?_"

"Hi, Debbie," I say, "this is Ronnie Reid. I think that vaccine did something to me. It's nothing serious but I want it to go away as soon as possible."

There was a short pause and then Debbie answered, "_I'll let the doctor know to expect you. See you at eleven._" _Click_.

My head drops into my palm as I check on my phone what time it is.

10:38.

I set my phone down for about two seconds when I hear it vibrate against the coffee table. I pick it up to see who it is. I groan. _Beautiful_.

Jason.

I'm tempted to ignore it, but even I know he'll come in if I don't answer.

"Hello?" I answer, making the annoyance in my voice obvious.

"_Hey, are you home?_" Jason asks.

I roll my eyes, "Yeah, why?"

"_I wanna spend some time with you. I'm outside. Come down._"

I move to the window and look out. Jason's there, leaning against a Ferrari that can only be Bruce's.

"I have a doctor's appointment in twenty minutes," I say drily.

"_I'll drive you._"

There's no point in arguing with him. I can't think of a way out anyway.

"I'll be right down." I throw on shorts and a tank again, grab my phone and keys and lock up behind me. Jason's already in the driver's seat. When I enter the car, I say, "Before you ask, it's the Neeson office."

Jason nods and drives. After a short silence, Jason decides to start a conversation.

"I'm sorry about yesterday."

Looking out the window, I sigh, "It's okay. I get it. You're at Roy's beck and call."

"Hey, it was nothing like that," Jason contradicts me. "He needed me."

_Are you serious?_ I explode.

"I need you!" I yell at him. "Roy had you for three months! I have you for a few days and you waste it on them!"

Jason throws me a disbelieving look. "I'm sorry, but–" He pauses. "Wait, what do you mean 'them'?"

I consider playing it off, slip of the tongue kind of thing, but no. He deserves this.

"I know, Jason. I know it wasn't just you and Roy for the past three months. I know about Kory."

Jason's head whips towards me. "How do you know about Kory?"

I shake my head, "It doesn't matter who told me. All that matters is that they obviously care about me more than you."

"Tim," Jason growls. To me, he says, "I do care about you, Ronnie! You weren't supposed to be told."

"I'm glad Tim told me. I'd still be in the dark if he didn't."

Realizing that I wasn't backing down, Jason tries a different approach. "Look, Kory and I–"

"Don't play it off as 'we're just friends and I was worried you'd be upset.' I know you and her did the 'horizontal tango.'" I wanna slap myself for using Kim's old nickname for it.

Confusion crosses Jason's face. "What?"

I scoff. Louder, I say, "I know you had sex with her!" I cross my arms and go back to looking out the window.

Jason sighs. "Look, Ronnie. Yes, we had sex. But it was recreational. There was no emotion involved. I understand–"

"No, you don't!" I yell. "I'm not oblivious, Jason. I know people have sex all the time. But I was raised to believe that only people who truly love each other have sex. It's not a 'recreational' activity. Hearing that you treat it that way makes me wonder what the hell you want with me!"

Jason slams on the brakes and the car comes to a halt. I'm about to yell at him again, but then I realize he stopped in front of my doctor's office.

Looking me in the eye, Jason says slowly, "Ronnie, you are not Kory. You mean more than the world to me. I would never – ever – think of doing anything that you would never want to do. I would never use you in that way. Just holding you is enough for me." He runs his hands through his hair. "I understand that you're hurt and it's justified. I lied to you so you wouldn't ask questions about Kory and think I was going behind your back. Which I guess I ended up doing that anyway by lying to you." Jason takes my hand. "I love you, Ronnie. And… I'm sorry."

I don't want to forgive him, but I could see the honesty shining through his eyes.

"I love you, too." I whisper, tears filling up my eyes. Jason brings me closes and kisses me.

I laugh and say, "I need to go."

"I'll see you in a little bit."

I give him one last kiss and exit the car. _What a ride._ Once inside, I check in and am immediately ushered into the same room as last time. The same blond nurse is waiting for me. I don't remember if she mentioned her name last time.

"Hello, Ronnie." Again, the nurse is overly joyful. "Why don't you sit down and tell me what's wrong?"

I sit on the examination table. "Um, well, I've been getting sick. A lot. It hits me first thing in the morning, but then I'm fine. Except one time – the first time – I was sick after smelling cigar smoke."

The nurse writes that down and asks, "Anything else?"

I bite my bottom lip, "Well, it's probably not worth mentioning, but… I've been having weird cravings."

She urges me on. "Like…"

"I hate garlic, but yesterday I had it in my eggs for breakfast and loved it. Before that I ate half a tub of Blue Bell ice cream."

"Ronnie," the nurse looks at me, "is it possible that you might be pregnant?"

I laugh. Hard. Apparently, today revolves around sex.

"No," I finally answer. "Not unless I'm the virgin Mary incarnate."

"Okay, then. I'm going to take your blood so we can run some tests." After she gets two vials of my blood, she leaves me to wait.

Fifteen minutes into my waiting, Jason calls.

"_Hey, how's the appointment going?_" he asks.

"They're running blood tests right now to see if my vaccine has been making me sick."

"_Sounds interesting_," Jason says sarcastically. "_I'm on my way back. I'll wait with you_."

I smile. "Okay, I'll see you soon."

"_I love you_."

I love hearing that. I'm going to have to get used to it. "I love you, too."

I replaced my phone into my pocket just as the nurse comes back in with a beige folder. I'm guessing the results are inside the folder.

The nurse smiles at me. "Congratulations!" This is when I expect her to say, "Nothing's wrong, just a side effect we can easily fix!" Instead, she says, "You're pregnant."

"Excuse me?" If she's joking, this isn't funny.

"You're pregnant. And before you ask, I ran the test three times."

Two men enter the room and one of them is holding a syringe full of a clear liquid.

"Careful," the nurse says, "don't hurt the baby."

The men grab me and I struggle, kicking and punching when I could. The syringe is plunged into my neck and I lose consciousness.


	5. Bright White

"I'm getting really sick of that," I moan when I gain consciousness. I sit up to find that, at least this time, I'm on a bright white bed shoved into a corner. The room is spotlessly white with no windows, just florescent lights on the ceiling. Looking down, I find I've been changed into white scrubs.

As I search around the room I discover a toilet and sink hidden by a stall, a bookcase filled with both classic and contemporary novels, a kitchenette complete with a microwave and a refrigerator filled with my favorite foods. There's a couch and a table with matching chairs. Everything is white. I feel like taking all the drinks out of the frig and pouring them everywhere just to get some color in this place.

I can't just sit so I start pacing the room. I'm still pacing when a door appears on the far wall away from everything in the room. It slides away to reveal the "nurse", with round glasses on, who walks in. The door slides to a close behind her and clicks as it shuts.

"Hello, Ronnie," she smiles at me. "My name is Tonya Bryce and I'm sure you are wondering why you're here."

I scoff, "That's a question?"

Tonya just keeps on smiling. "Let's sit down." I follow her to the table and sit across from her. "Ronnie, are you familiar with the name 'Ra's al Ghul'?"

I have an idea to where this conversation was going. I nod, "Yeah, I've heard of him. And his Lazarus Pit, in case you were wondering." I tried to let my annoyance drip from my voice, but it didn't affect Tonya in the least.

"Good. That makes this easier." Tonya leans forward, her elbows on the table and her fingers inter-linked. "My team and I have been studying the effects of Lazarus Pit for years. We were finally able to determine how the pit works. The water encourages the cells to rapidly divide to make the body young and whole again. As we can't find the pit since Ra's has it hidden to well, we're trying to find a way to replicate the results for our employer."

I let out a disgusted laugh, "I knew it. I'm kidnapped because some rich guy wants to be young again."

"Actually, no," Tonya says. "We are more interested in the cell division in order to recreate limbs. And maybe someday whole beings. Science is able to recreate ears, but it's decades behind what we need."

I chew on the inside of my cheek. "So, why me?"

Tonya removes her glasses, "A hundred years ago, Ra's al Ghul fathered a son. The mother, fearful of the father's trade and that the son would grow up evil under his father's influence, took the son away and raised him. He had a family of his own and it's flourished to this day without any knowledge of its origins." She looks me in the eye, "_Your_ family, Ronnie."

"So, Ra's al Ghul is my great-to-so-many-degrees-grandfather?" I ask.

"Yes," Tonya nods once. "And the traits of the Lazarus Pit have been passed onto you."

I blink. "How?"

"We have found that it's a dominant trait, like brown eyes or red hair. The cells are passed on during conception and infect all the other cells while the fetus grows. This causes slower aging, bones are resistant to fractures, scars never appear on the ski, among other things."

Okay, now I have the information. Only one question remains. "What does any of this have to do with you telling me I'm pregnant?"

It seems that was the question Tonya has been waiting for. "Your cells encourage cell division and growth. We have acquired other, fresher, Lazarus DNA and what better way to monitor cell division acceleration than having a fetus fused with Lazarus DNA?"

Tonya purses her lips, "Of course, there were some complications. We tried to fuse the fetus with only half of its DNA from our source. All of our volunteer surrogates, and yes, they were volunteers, suffered miscarriages. The fetus couldn't grow with half of its DNA being normal. There was no way we could get our hands on Ra's' daughter, Talia, so we tracked down his other descendents. You were the only girl over twelve and under sixty-two. And that's how we arrived here."

My head drops into my hands and I massage my temples. I only two possibilities: this woman was just completely insane or I really was pregnant. I definitely had matching symptoms.

"Who," I ask, "does the other half of the DNA belong to?"

Tonya's smile returns. "Jason Peter Todd." I gasp and Tonya laughs. "Yes, we were pleasantly surprised when we found out the two of you are… involved." Tonya stands up, "We'll make your stay here as comfortable as possible."

I hate to admit it, but Tonya kept her word. I can eat whenever I want and read and sleep just the same. I ask for movies and they bring in a replica of my entire movie collection (the boxes still had the stickers on them) along with a portable DVD player. The only refusal I got was for a laptop and my cell phone. Tonya says my cell is locked up in the facility somewhere, unaltered and unharmed. I hope that's true. Maybe Jason and the Batboys will be able to find me.

Other things I was given was a calendar and digital clock. Tonya gave them to me in order to prove how fast the baby was growing.

Yeah, I definitely believe now.

During the first week when they measure my stomach and check my vitals, nothing changes. But halfway through the second week, I gain three inches around my belly. The next day comes the sonogram. There's no heartbeat yet, I still saw it. I saw my baby. It was forced on me against my will, but I still love it. Its day thirteen and I'm about eleven weeks along. The baby isn't growing as fast as Tonya would have liked, but still.

I'm reading _Pride and Prejudice_ out loud to the baby to entertain myself when an alarm goes off changing the white room into a gross red. The door slides open and Tonya comes in with six guards behind her.

"We're moving you," she says, her voice full of fear and determination. A guard comes over to me and yanks me up by my arm. "Gently!" Tonya snaps.

The men surround me once we're outside the room. I take a look around and the building I'm in seems like an old factory that was turned into a lab. The man behind me pushes me forward and we make our way slowly to some unknown exit. Over the alarm, I can hear sounds of gunfire and combat that seem to come from everywhere.

Suddenly the sounds cease and the lights flicker off for a few seconds. When they come back on, Tonya looks scared out of her mind. I follow her gaze and smile.

Batman, Robin, and Red Hood are resting on a catwalk a few hundred feet above us.

"By the look on your face," Jason says, anger more than apparent in his voice, "I'm gonna guess you realize what a big mistake you made."

The fear leaves Tonya's face and is replaced by irritation. She yells, "We're changing medical science!"

"Last time I checked, human testing had to be done on _volunteers_, not innocent kidnappedees," Tim yells back.

I try to hold in a laugh. Tim really needs to work on his insults.

One of my bodyguards pulls out his AK-47 and starts shooting the rescue party. I will never understand the bad guys' obsession with AKs.

Bruce, Tim and Jason drop from the catwalk. Bruce whips out his batarangs while Tim throws his exploding marbles. Jason, on the other hand, does exactly what I would do and brings out his pistols. He aims for arms and legs, probably with great restraint.

After all the guards are either knocked out or have passed out due to blood loss, Bruce, Tim, and Jason surround Tonya. Jason grabs her by her shirt.

"What were you doing to her?" Jason growls.

Tonya smirks, "Ask her."

"Nice try. I want the details."

I bit my lip. "Jason–"

"Not now, Ronnie."

Tonya laughs. "I'll say this, Jason Todd. Congratulations. Maybe you'll be better at the job than your old man or even Bruce."

Out of anger and confusion, Jason knocks Tonya's head against his causing Tonya to lose consciousness.

"We'll let the police deal with her," Bruce says. "Once at the police station, we'll figure out what they wanted."

I whisper, "No need." Everyone looks at me with curious eyes. "I know everything," I look at Jason, "including the details. She told me. The proof I've seen is even more concrete."

Jason walks up to me. "Ronnie, what was she talking about?"

I sigh. It's now or never.

"Jason. I'm pregnant."


	6. Family Meeting

Jason is angrily pacing as we wait for Dr. Thompkins. She knows who Bruce, Tim and Jason are and is the only one we can trust with my… condition.

I explained everything when we arrived at the batcave. I had to emphasize that I was chosen for my DNA, not because of Jason; I didn't need him pulling an Edward Cullen on me.

"Jason," I groan, sitting on a chair and rubbing my temples, "please stop pacing. You're giving me a headache."

Tim comes out of the "uniform storage area" dressed in his civilian clothes. "So can I be 'Uncle Tim'?"

Bruce was at the computer, cowl down, checking my blood for any oddities.

"Master Bruce," Alfred called from the intercom, "Dr. Thompkins has arrived."

"Send her down, Alfred," Bruce answers. To me he says, "Your blood's clean."

Tim shows me to the same table that Alfred had fixed my stitches at all those months ago. While sitting on the table I rest my hands on my stomach. Though I know there's a human being growing inside me, the fact that I'm going to be a mom hasn't sunk in completely.

I've always loved little kids, but at some point I could give the crying baby back to its experienced mother.

Another question weighs heavily on my mind, but I can't go there. Not yet.

"Hello, Ronnie."

My attention is drawn from my stomach to a woman in her fifties standing in front of me.

"Dr. Thompkins," I nod a hello.

She gives me a warm smile. "Bruce has informed me of your… condition."

"Kind of a mind-blowing, isn't it?" I say with an unsure laugh.

"I'm used to odd situations thanks to Bruce."

I'd be dead a hundred times over if it wasn't for you," Bruce smiles at her. He hands Dr. Thompkins a sheet of paper.

"Positive," she whispers to herself. Alfred wheels a machine over to us. To him, Dr. Thompkins says, "Thank you, Alfred."

"Of course." Alfred bends down and picks up a triangle-shaped pillow. He places it behind my back. His hand pushes my shoulder back so I'm leaning against the pillow. Alfred shares an encouraging smile with me before he backs away.

Jason grabs the chair from in front of Bruce's computer and places it on my right. Bruce throws him a look, but Jason just smirks.

"Will you raise your shirt?" Dr. Thompkins asks as put on latex gloves.

I do as she asks and she rubs a gel onto my stomach. I finally realize what's going on: an ultrasound. The machine Tonya had used at the facility was smaller and newer than the machine in front of me now.

"Now," Dr. Thompkins, "let's take a look." She takes the wand and places it on my stomach. It's cold, but my focus is on the screen. At first all I can see is fuzzy black and gray. Then something moves. "There they are."

"They?" I thought there was only one.

"Sorry," Dr. Thompkins apologizes, "I'm just using the general term." Looking back at the screen, she says, "Hm. Won't know the sex until the fetus reaches fifteen weeks."

"How far along is she?" Bruce asks.

"Thirteen weeks."

_Wait. What?_ "Are you sure?"

Dr. Thompkins nods, "Yes, the webbing between the fingers is disappearing and the baby's about three inches long."

"Yesterday I was only twelve," I murmur.

"This isn't a normal pregnancy, so I won't be able tell you how fast the baby is growing until I collect data over the next few days."

I sigh and look back at the screen. Absentmindedly, I place my hand on the side of my stomach that Dr. Thompkins isn't scanning. Then I jump.

My baby had placed its hand against the womb so on the screen all you could see is the hand.

"Well, that is a rarity," Dr. Thompkins comments.

"At least the kid got Ronnie's brains and not Jason's?" Tim jokes.

"What's wrong with my brains?" Jason asks. I can already see where this is going.

"Nothing," Tim shrugs. "Except yours tends to get you into trouble. They aren't the sharpest tools, if you know what I mean."

Jason jumps up and tackles Tim. Normally, I'd be worried, but I saw the smile on Jason's face and so did Bruce. But one person didn't.

"Whoa, what are you two boneheads doing?"

Dick had come down the stairs and is now prying Jason and Tim apart.

"Remember when you used to be fun?" Jason asks. When Dick doesn't answer, Jason does. "Yeah, neither do I."

"We were just messing around, Dick," Tim explains.

Dick just shakes his head and walks up to Bruce. "You found her I see."

"No thanks to you," Jason mumbles.

I interject before Dick can respond.

"Where have you been?"

Dick smirks, "Blüdhaven. Had some goons trying to take over. I got it sorted though."

"Well, at least you have an excuse for missing the party," I mock.

"I apparently missed something," Dick says, looking at the machine.

"You're going to be an uncle," Jason says as he slaps Dick on the back, who raises an eyebrow.

"Excuse me?"

"It's a long story involving Ronnie being Ra's al Ghul's great-great-great-granddaughter and her DNA being fused with Jason's to create a fast growing baby inside Ronnie." Tim grins when he's finished to show how proud he is. Sometimes it's easy to forget that he's one of the best detectives in the city and is going to be a senior in high school.

"So, in other words, Ronnie is pregnant with Jason's baby?" We all nod in confirmation. Dick lets out a low whistle. "At least it isn't me. Poor kid."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Jason snaps.

"_I_ would have a hard time settling down," Dick replies. "_You_ can't stay in one place for very long. Closest thing to a dad that kid's gonna have is Bruce or Alfred."

Jason whips out his pistol and aims it between Dick's eyes. "Take that back!"

"You think a gun scares me?" Dick laughs. "Besides, I know I wasn't the only one thinking it."

Jason lowers his gun and looks at us all, one by one. His eyes finally rest on me.

"Ronnie? You know I wouldn't run out."

I can't look him in the eye.

"The question went through my mind," I choke out through my tears.

"Well, I guess running away is the only thing I'm good at."

With that, Jason tosses the gun and runs up the stairs. I watch the gun slide across the floor until it hits Bruce's foot.

None of us say a word. I don't think any of us can.


	7. Balcony

I finally find him out on one of the manor's many balconies. Dr. Thompkins had left promising to come back the next day. Bruce and Tim were now out on patrol and I don't know, nor do I care, where Dick is.

No, all I care about right now is Jason, who was currently sitting on the stone railing with one leg dangling over the edge and the other pulled close to his chest.

"You'll catch a cold out here," Jason says drily.

"It is eighty-two degrees," I reply, "I think I'm good."

Jason turns around to face me. "What do you want, Ronnie?" He jumps down and leans against the railing. "Huh? Wanna rub my past in my face even further?"

"Jason, don't do this," I plead. When he doesn't answer me, I say, "Can't you see it from my point of view instead of coming up here and pouting like a two-year-old?"

"You hung out with Alfred too much while I was gone."

I shake my head, "Same old Jason, always joking to avoid a serious conversation."

"You want serious?" Jason asks, his volume rising. "Fine, let's be serious." He pushes off the railing and throws his arms in the air. "Why do you think I would run out on you?"

I lift my arms and then let them fall to my sides. "What am I supposed to think, Jason? _I _wasn't enough to keep you here. Why should a baby? And not a baby that came around because we had sex and knew the risks, but a baby that came around because someone stole your DNA somehow and mixed it with mine. As much as it would have killed me, I wouldn't blame you if left."

"You're right," Jason says. "I didn't ask for a baby. But maybe that's exactly what I need."

"I don't want you to feel like you were pressured into staying."

Jason gives off a short laugh. "I'm not one to be pressured into things, Ronnie. And I know when to do the right thing." He walks up to me and pulls me into his arms. "I didn't grow up with the greatest father. My old man was a con and a druggie. One day he was arrested and never came back." Jason smirks and shakes his head. "Bruce was a step up, although I think his flaws are obvious, he was still the greatest father figure I ever had. You know he once skipped a night of patrol to spend time with me when I was too sick to go out with him? That's the kind of father I had always wanted. That's the father I intend to be."

I smile and Jason presses his lips against mine, running his fingers through my hair. My own fingers find the collar to his jacket and slip it off of him. Jason's hands slide down my sides and hoist me up so my legs wrap around his hips. I shiver at the feel of his hands exploring my back.

"Ah-hem."

I turn my head, arms and legs still wrapped around Jason, to see Alfred standing just a few feet away.

"Maybe we should wait until the baby is born before you work on giving it a sibling, hm?" Alfred suggests with a raised eyebrow.

I can feel the blood racing up into my cheeks. I try to wiggle out of Jason's embrace to get my feet back on the ground, but Jason holds me in place.

"Don't worry, Alfred," he laughs. "Ronnie is _very_ old fashioned."

"Which, again, makes me wonder why she's drawn to _you_," Alfred responds.

I'm worried that comment might set Jason off again, but his laughs just gains volume.

"I sometimes wonder the same thing, Alfred."

Alfred smiles. "Now that you're in a better mood, I can inform you that Mister Harper has sent word that he will be arriving next week with Miss Koriand'r."

Jason rolls his eyes. "Great. Can't wait to hear Loud Mouth's comments on the situation. Thanks, Alfred."

Alfred bows and leaves.

I turn my head back to Jason and give him a good slap upside the head.

"Ow!" Rubbing the spot I had whacked, he asks, "What was that for?"

I give him a long, hard look. "I am not _that_ old fashioned." I give him another good hit. "That one was because you need to learn not to throw fits."

"Hey, now–"

I shut him up with a kiss, but Jason quickly cuts it off and sets me down.

With his hands on my shoulders, he asks, "Is something wrong?"

I pull away. "No, of course not. I'm fine." That's a lie, but I don't want to tell him the truth.

"It's about Roy and Kory, isn't it?" Jason suggests.

I chew on the inside of my cheek. There's no point in hiding it from him.

I ask, "Is she pretty?"

Jason tilts his head to the side. "What?"

"Kory," I specify. "Is she pretty?"

Jason throws me an odd look. "She's an alien, so I'm not quite sure how to answer that particular question."

"Obviously she was pretty enough to sleep with."

"And we're back to that conversation," Jason sing-songs.

I flinch, "Sorry."

Jason takes my face into his hands and places his forehead against mine.

"You have nothing to worry about," he reassures me. "For some odd reason that I will probably never understand, Kory is with Roy. And they are crazy about each other."

I narrow my eyes at him. "You know, my life wasn't this mood or dramatic before I met you."

He smirks. "But it's so much more fun."

I just laugh and roll my eyes.


	8. Meet the Outlaws

"Well, I think it's safe to say that each day equals a week of growth," Dr. Thompkins concludes.

After two weeks of daily visits, Dr. Thompkins says I'm halfway through the pregnancy at 24 weeks. I had cried when we heard the baby's heartbeat for the first time. I saw a tear escape Jason's eye and Bruce was beaming. Dr. Thompkins gave me the chance to learn the sex of the baby, but, to Jason's annoyance, I chose to stay surprised. Dr. Thompkins promised not to tell anyone else either.

When today's appointment is over, Jason helps me down from the table while Dr. Thompkins packs up.

"Only about two more weeks, I should say," she informs us.

"Good," I huff. "I feel like a balloon." I look down at my stomach and groan. "I even look like a balloon."

Jason shakes his head, smiling. "You still look beautiful, Ronnie."

I roll my eyes. "Yes, because waddling around like a penguin is incredibly sexy."

Before Jason could answer, Tim interrupts.

"So, have you guys agreed on a name yet?"

"There's no need," I reply. "I already have them picked out."

"Yeah," Jason says. "If it's a boy, he'll be Jason Todd, Junior, or JJ or short. If it's a girl, then we'll name her Gail."

I throw Jason a questioning look. "Um, no."

Jason returns the look. "What do you mean 'no'?"

"I mean no." I look down and run my fingers over my stomach. "If the baby is a girl, we'll name her Martha, Marty for short." I catch a smile escape Bruce's lips for a split second. I knew he would like that. "If it's a boy, like I hope, then we'll name him after my father."

Jason smiles and shakes his head. He had to know that was coming.

"What was your father's name?" Dr. Thompkins asks.

My eyes start to water. "Jensen. His name was Jensen."

"That name gets my vote," Bruce says.

"Fine," Jason throws his hands up in defeat. "No Jason Junior."

"We'll give him your last name," I promise him with a kiss on the cheek.

Suddenly, the doorbell rings and echoes throughout the cave.

"Who could that be?" Tim asks. Jason and I exchange looks. We know who it is.

Roy and Kory were due last week, but had never shown up. We were expecting them any day now.

"You're guests are here, Master Todd," Alfred announces from the intercom.

"Ready to meet the Loud Mouth?" Jason asks me.

I nod, just a tad bit nervous. Roy is Jason's best friend (no matter how mean and rude Jason is to him). It may be cliché and stupid, but I'm scared he won't… approve of me? It's just an odd feeling, that's all.

"Good," Jason gives me a warm smile. I know he notices my nervousness, but he doesn't mention it which is for the best. Jason scoops me up into his arms and carries me up the stairs.

Alfred shows us to one of the parlor rooms and Jason puts me down right outside the door. He opens the door and we walk inside.

A tall red-haired man in a trucker hat, who can only be Roy, is playing pool while talking to a person sitting on the couch. All I can see of the second person is wavy red hair, but I know it's Kory. Roy looks up to see us and smiles.

"Well, isn't it Jason, the Daddy-o," he calls.

As they hug, Jason says, "You can have the nickname or your face intact. Your choice."

"Always the jokester."Roy turns to me. "And you must be Ronnie. I've heard a lot about you."

"Yes, we have heard _a lot_ about you." Kory stands up and turns around and I have to hold back a gasp.

She's stunning. For an alien.

Skinny, muscular, and at least six feet tall, she could be a model if it weren't for the orange skin and glowing green eyes.

Jason places his arm around my waist, whether to reassure me or to remind Roy that I'm his, I don't know. "Ronnie, this is Kory."

I hold out my hand. "It's nice to meet you."

She meets my hand with hers. Even her hands are gorgeous.

_I am such a step down_.

I end the handshake and rest my hands on my stomach. Kory's gaze follows my hands.

"So that's the science experiment?" She asks with a raised eyebrow.

I cover my stomach protectively with my arms. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well," Kory says as if she hasn't insulted me, "that's what it is, isn't it? Just a science experiment?"

"It's still my baby." Even I can hear the hostility in my voice.

"That you didn't necessarily want."

"Kory, that's enough!" Jason yells. Kory actually has the nerve to look taken back.

"And here I thought we were just gonna meet and be merry with no jealousy tension," Roy mumbles.

"I'm not jealous," Kory states. "Why would I want to look like a balloon?"

That's it. That's the last straw. I turn to look at Roy.

"It was very nice to meet you, Roy," I say. "You seem like a great guy and Jason is lucky to have a friend who can put up with his threats." I blame the next sentence that leaves my mouth on the pregnancy. I look Kory right in the eye and say, "_You_ can go die in the hole that the garbage man will store the dirty diapers in."

Beside me, Jason tries to suppress a laugh. I'm not laughing, but at least I know I'm not going to get a lecture later for being rude to his so-called "friend."

Kory looks like she's about to fry me, but I don't care.

"Enjoy your stay at Wayne Manor," and I walk out of the room.


	9. Kitchen Conversations

I wander around the mansion and find myself following my nose into the kitchen. Alfred is in the middle of chopping onions for dinner.

"Not a good introduction, Miss Reid?" Alfred asks.

"I like Roy," I answer drily. "Kory, on the other hand… not that much."

"Understandable." Alfred walks over to the refrigerator and opens it. "Hm. Out of cilantro." He turns to me, "It seems I have an errand to run. Maybe to get your mind off your troubles, could I get you to chop the celery?"

"Of course," I nod. Alfred sets up the cutting board and leaves me alone to chop the celery.

"The 'die in the hole with the diapers' line was pretty good."

_Chop. Chop. Chop. Chop._

Jason pushes off from the doorframe he was leaning on and stands across from me on the other side of the counter. "I'll admit, that introduction could have gone better."

"You think?" I scoff, keeping my focus on my task.

"Good news is," Jason reassures me, "they're only staying a week, if that. You only have to play nice hostess for that long."

"I tried to be nice, but that comment she made…"

Jason shrugs, "You shouldn't let comments get to you like that. I figured you would've grown a backbone from me."

I stop mid-chop and look at Jason. "Do you really wanna irritate an already pissed off pregnant woman who happens to be wielding a knife?" When he doesn't answer, I continue chopping and say, "I didn't go into that room thinking 'I hate this woman, I think I'm going to be so rude that I won't be able to recognize myself in the mirror.' But, honestly, what was I supposed to do? Let her call my baby a science experiment and just smile and agree with her?"

At this moment, I'm chopping ferociously. Jason places his hand over mine that is on the knife to stop me and calm me down.

"You stood up for yourself and those you care about, Ronnie. I'd be pissed if the girl I fell in love with had let her feistiness die out because of the situation she was thrown into."

I try to suppress a smile and fail greatly. "Well–"

"Jason."

We both turn to see Roy standing in the doorway.

Jason scrunches his eyebrows, "What do you need, Roy?"

"Actually, it's Bruce who needs you," Roy says.

"Hm. Okay. Strange." Jason kisses my forehead. "I'll see ya at dinner."

Once Jason is gone, I turn to Roy. "Bruce ran to the office fifteen minutes ago."

"I know," Roy smirks. "I actually wanted to get you alone and I knew after that scene upstairs, very few things would get Jason away from you." Roy picks up a celery stick and starts munching on it. "I wanna apologize for Kory's behavior. She's not usually like that and I don't know what's up with her." _Munch_. "Personally, I like you. A girl's gotta have a sharp tongue like yours to survive Jason."

"Do you think Kory's behavior had anything with her and Jason's past?" I ask as I gather up the celery pieces and put them in a bowl.

"I can't see that being a reason considering they never were really together."

I make a face. "Is it wrong that I honestly don't care and never will care what she thinks of me?"

Roy shakes his head. "Honestly? No. There are times I don't like her, but she's my girl. I have to stick by her side through thick and thin."

I smile. "For a bunch of outlaws, you guys sure are gentlemen-like."

"Honor among thieves." Roy sighs and leans his arms against the counter. "I'm gonna tell you something, because it's something that I know has been worrying both you and Jason. He didn't run out on you, Ronnie."

I take a deep breath. "I know, but–"

"He loves you. I can't believe I just said that about 'Hardhead Jason,' but he does. He went away because – well – because he wanted to prove to you and, even more so, to himself that he deserved you. That he was worthy to have someone like you." Roy walks away to leave me with my thoughts, but stops right at the door to give me on last statement, "He'd kill me for telling you, but… he talked about you every day. It got so bad that at one point, _I_ was the one threatening _him_ instead of the usual other way around." He throws me one last smile and leaves.

*()*()*()*()*

Dinner was… interesting. I kept my mouth shut, which was only easy with Jason by my side. Bruce was awfully quiet and Tim kept his conversations limited to Jason, Roy and me, completely ignoring Kory. Dick never even arrived for dinner although he's made it every night before hand.

I was the first one done and went straight to the kitchen to start the dishes. Alfred brought in the others' dishes and I made him go to bed early, leaving the dishes to me. I need the busy work.

"Well, you could cut that tension with a knife."

I roll my eyes. "I should get an award for how well I held my tongue."

"Don't feel bad," Tim says as he grabs a rag and starts helping me dry the dishes. "Kory's never been my favorite person either."

I look over at Tim. "Why?"

"Reasons," he shrugs.

I bite my lip and then ask on a hunch, "Did Dick go back to Blüdhaven?"

"No," Tim shakes his head. "But you won't see him around much for the next week or so."

I pause my work. "Why?"

Tim makes a face. "Him and Kory have a history."

I throw the washcloth into the sink, splashing soapsuds and water everywhere. "Who _hasn't_ she slept with!"

Tim raises an eyebrow, surprised by my outburst. "You're scary when you're pregnant."

I deflate. I turn around and slide down to the floor, leaning my back against the sink cabinet.

"Sometimes I wish my life would go back to the way it was."

"The way I see it," Tim says to me, "this would have happened anyway. You did say that the scientists had been doing their research for years."

I nod. "I know. I guess I just hate what's going on inside me." Tim opens his mouth, but I stop him. "Not the baby. I mean, what's going on mentally. I feel like all my emotions are out of whack."

"Don't all pregnant women feel that way?" It's my turn to throw Tim a look, but he just laughs. "You know, Bruce has a knack for attracting those who need a family, even if you already, somewhat, have one at home. I mean, look at Dick and Jason. Both were basically homeless when Bruce adopted them, unless you count the circus as home." Tim nudges me. "Then there's you and me. You have your mom and brother–"

"Not really my brother anymore," I interrupt.

"He's still related to you." Tim sighs and continues, "And I have my dad. But they'd explode if they knew have of the things that happen to us."

"It's hard because you can't always tell them everything that's going on," I added. "I don't see my mom anymore – Bruce told her that I'm with you at some college prep course out of state – but I still could never tell her the truth. But Bruce… you can tell him anything because – even if sometimes it seems like he's not really listening – he understands and _really_ listens." I smile, "You know he's not going to drag you to a therapist."

"Exactly," Tim laughs. "I know the minute my dad finds out I'm Robin, he'll make me quit in a heartbeat."

I relax and look around the room. "Who knew the kitchen would be a great place to have deep conversations."

Tim makes a mockingly terrified face. "I'd be scared if these walls ever learned to talk."

I laugh. And keep laughing. It feels good. I haven't been able to spend much time with Tim lately, so right now I'm savoring every moment.


	10. Kori's side

**AN: Hey guys, I have two things to apologizes for. First, that this took so dang long. This chapter just wouldn't come out! But now it's here. Anyway, hope you enjoy this chapter and I will be updating soon!**

The shower's hot water feels like a nice massage against my back. I want to stay in here forever, but my skin is a pruny as – well – a prune.

So, reluctantly, I turn off the water and step out of the shower. As I ring my hair out with a towel, I wrap a bigger towel around me and exit my bathroom. I just slip on my underwear and bra when I realize a loud conversation is taking place outside in the hallway. Curious, I slip on pajama shorts and pull a hoodie over my head and stick my head out my door. My eyes widen.

The conversationalists are Barbara and Kory.

"I don't understand what the big deal is," Barbara argues. "He made his feelings clear and you obviously have moved on. Why open old wounds?"

"I thought that we could remain friends." Kory looks so defeated. "I just want to know why he's avoiding me. If you could just tell him–"

"I'm not a telephone, Kory," Barbara interrupts. "Dick isn't the most talkative person and i've agreed to try and stay out of his personal life. You should try and do the same." Barbara ends the conversation there and turns to see me. I think as an excuse to change the subject, she makes her way to me. "Are you okay, Ronnie?" she asks. "Do you need the heating pad again?"

Barbara's been really helpful, practically playing nursemaid to me since Alfred isn't always available.

I shake my head and force a smile. "No, thank you, though. I'm fine."

Barbara gives me "the look." It's the same one that everyone else gives me when they want to give me something or run an errand for me and I say no. It's the "don't fight with me, I know you want me to go do it, you just don't want to seem like a burden" look. If I see it one more time, I might have to smack it off.

"Really, Babs, I'm fine. I was just eavesdropping," I reassure her.

"Okay," Barbara nods. "Remember: if you need anything–"

"I'll let you know," I finish.

Barbara throws me a smile and walks away.

I'm about to walk back into my room when a hand on my shoulder stops me. It's Kory.

"Can we go for a walk?" she asks.

"I'm not talking to Dick either," I start.

Kory shakes her head. "That's not what I want. I want to talk about something else."

I sigh. "Okay. Let's go."

We make our way to the park behind the mansion. Kory doesn't speak until we are far from the house and deep into the trees.

"I want to apologize for my behavior from a few days ago," she says.

I look at her. "I just want to know what I did. If I insulted you or–"

"It is nothing _you_ did." Kory turns away and places her hand on a nearby tree. "My own childhood wasn't the best."

"I know," I shrug. "Tim told me."

I hear her smirk, "Of course. Well, it made me think mothers, and mother-like figures, only care to a point and easily throw their young away."

"Not all mother's are like that," I say as I take a few steps toward Kory. "The instinct can be stronger with one mother over another."

"Tamaraneans and humans aren't so different," Kory whispers. She turns and looks at me, "I hope you can accept my apology before we leave."

"Before you leave?" I question. "What do you mean? You've only been here three days."

"Yes," Kory nods, "but Roy has business with his former mentor. They are trying to 'make up,' as you say."

I give Kory a half smile and open my mouth to answer her, but a branch snaps somewhere close. I sigh, "Tim you are so nosy sometimes, I swear–"

A stranger drops from a tree and stands up. It's a man in green armor who seems to be the size of a baby killer whale. A mask covers the bottom half of his face, but I can tell he's smiling.

"Well, this is just too easy," he boasts.

"Nothing is as it seems, Bulk." Another man holding a metal staff steps out from the trees followed by a woman brandishing two luminescent swords.

"Whatever," Bulk mumbles, "let's get just get this over with."

"Remember, we are not to harm her," the woman orders.

I look over to Kory, whose hands and eyes were glowing green. I vaguely remember Tim calling them "solar beams."

"Now, Baton!" the woman yells.

Baton runs forward, his staff ready for the strike. Kory is quick, though, sending her beams, which were more like pillars, into the chest of her opponent. The woman charges Kory, dodging every blast Kory sends at her.

"Ronnie, run!" Kory screams. I can't just leave her here, but I can't join the fight either. Oh, I _hate_ being useless!

A gun goes off and I duck. More shots are fired and I risk taking a peek. Yes! I see Jason running towards us with Bruce, Tim, Roy and Barbara behind him. Jason holsters the gun and joins in on the fight, tackling Bulk.

"Tim, take Ronnie, into the tunnels," Bruce yells.

Tim gives him one hard nod and grabs my arm to get me to start running back to the mansion. We make it about fifteen feet until one got away from the fight.

"Oh, no you don't," the woman growls. She jumps and I fear for Tim until Barbara reaches us and kicks the woman in the stomach, allowing Tim and I to keep running.

The sounds of the fight fade behind us as the mansion comes into view. I think we're going to make it back to the house when Tim suddenly stops in front of a tall weeping willow.

"What are you doing?" I ask between huffs. My only thoughts are for my baby.

Tim, instead of answering me, walks through the branches. He rips off a part of the bark to reveal a palm print scanner. The scanner beeps as it accepts his prints. A patch of grass to the right of the tree slides away to reveal stairs that leads down into the ground. Tim pulls me down them and the door panel shuts above me.

"Now what?" I ask.

"We wait." Tim leans against the wall, which was made of some kind of metal, and i sit down on the stairs.

What seems like hours goes by until the panel slides open. Tim jumps up, weapons ready, and positions me behind him. A shadow leans forward, showing us Bruce's face. He isn't happy.

"Family meeting. Now."


	11. Goodbye

Sometimes I wish these meetings could take place in the dining room. At least then I wouldn't have to deal with all these stairs. Okay, Jason did offer to carry me, but sometimes it's cute, and others it's just embarrassing because I can't function on my own. Right now would be the latter.

I'm huffing and puffing by the time I reach the bottom of the stairs that lead to the cave. Tim rushes past me and gets me the chair from the computers. This time, Bruce doesn't throw him a look.

Everyone kind of gathers into a circle, waiting for someone to start the conversation. Bruce opens his mouth, but I beat him to the punch.

"Who the hell were those people?"

"The Fearsome Hand of Four," Roy answers.

_Wait a second_. I think back to the fight. "But there were only three of them."

Roy laughs, "Yeah. That's because Jay-bird made mincemeat out of one of them."

Jason groans, rubbing his forehead. "Roy, what did I say about the nicknames?"

I look over to Jason. "You killed one of them? When did they come after you?"

"It was a long time ago," Bruce interrupts. "We need to focus on the pressing matter at hand. Such as: the fact that the people who kidnapped Ronnie in the first place are after her again."

"We should have expected this," Barbara says. "They created the baby in the first place. Of course they'd want it back."

"This means around the clock protection for Ronnie." Bruce looks at me, "No more going outside. You're too vulnerable out there."

"Yippee," I say flatly. At this prison is slightly bigger than the last.

Jason places his hand on my shoulder, squeezing it in a comforting manner. "It's okay. At least now you won't get sunburned into a crisp anymore." I send my elbow into his stomach. "Ow, okay. I deserved that."

"And the list of 'Reason Why I like Ronnie Reid' just keeps on growing," Roy laughs.

"Back to the subject," I say, "I understand, and accept, the need for protection, but I don't want everyone following me around like a bunch of bodyguards. I still need my space."

Bruce nods, "Agreed."

"Roy and I will take the first watch," Jason volunteers.

"No can-do, amigo," Roy shrugs. "Kory and I are headed out. In fact, I was trying to say goodbye when we had to save the girls."

"Where the hell are you going?" Jason asks.

Roy suddenly becomes serious. It's the first time I've seen a smile absent from Roy's face since I've met him. Even during the fight, he had a crooked little smirk present.

Roy says simply, "Oliver called."

Jason looks taken back. "Excuse accepted."

Roy walks up to Jason, gripping Jason's shoulders. "I'm always here for you, Jason. If something happens, if something goes wrong, just give us a call. We'll come."

"Good luck, Roy." Jason gives a smile and pulls Roy into a hug. I can't say who in the room had the most surprised look on their face. My vote goes to Roy's. It stayed there until Roy returns the hug.

They separate and Roy walks over to Kory.

"Ready?" he asks. Kory nods. They say their goodbyes to everyone, I even received a hug from Kory, and they leave the cave.

"Dude," Tim nudges Jason, "when did you become all touchy-feely?"

Jason throws him a look. "I'm gonna touchy-feely my foot right up your–"

*()*()*()*()*

I shut my book with force and toss it onto the nightstand. I can't concentrate on the words anyway.

Jason steps out of the bathroom, steam following him like a puppy, his flannel bottoms on and drying his hair with a towel. "Are you okay?"

"Who's Oliver?" I ask. Jason's eyebrows shoot up his forehead. "Sorry. It's just been driving me crazy all day. I don't mean to be nosy but…."

Jason sighs and sits beside me on the edge of the bed, his hand rest on my leg that's under the warm covers.

"Oliver is Roy's adoptive father," he says. "Oliver also happens to be Green Arrow. That's where Roy got his training." I bite my lip to keep my mouth shut while Jason continues. "Roy's never told me what happened, but Oliver kicked him out and took away his stock, leaving Roy homeless and broke. Soon, he developed a bad relationship with alcohol. Since then, Roy's cleaned up his act and even wrote Oliver a letter a few months back. I assume Roy and Oliver are going to reconcile."

"Wow." I take a deep breath and let it out slowly, looking down at my belly. "You are gonna have some interesting uncles."

Jason smiles and kisses my stretched out stomach. "You're gonna have an interesting life."

I laugh until I feel a repetition of varying pressure against the inside of my stomach.

"Jason," I laugh. "Jason, it's kicking!" I grab his hand and place it on the area where I feel the kicking. Jason laughs along with me. The joy I see in his eyes is incredible.

I wish I had a camera because in this moment, everything is perfect. We're a family with very… interesting members.


	12. It's Time

This past week and a half of my life has been absolutely miserable. The baby keeps moving around in my belly, stretching and kicking more forceful than ever. Dr. Thompkins says this is normal for a 38 week baby. But that's not the only problem lately.

While everyone understood that I didn't want bodyguards, that didn't stop them from being annoying pests. Jason and Barbara constantly follow me around, asking if I need anything or where I'm going at all times. I can't even _mention_ how they're giving me a headache without them whisking away to get me some tea (aspirin's bad for the baby). As soon as I come up with a plan to escape, they're back with a warm cup of tea, practically shoving it down my throat.

Bruce makes me stay in the cave when it's his turn to watch me. I have to sit there and "be good." It's like I'm twelve years old waiting for dad to get down with a meeting. I can only imagine what kind of babysitter Dick would be if he was around, but instead, it turns out, he _did_ run off to Blüdhaven. I guess he couldn't stand being around both Kory _and_ Jason. Dick and Jason haven't talk since their argument in the cave.

Tim is a tolerable babysitter. If I ask him to be quiet or to give me space, he does it. It helps to know that he understands. We've had that conversation.

_"You're not the only one who's gone through this," Tim had said suddenly while I was watching the evening news._

_I muted the TV. "What?"_

_"When I first became Robin," Tim started, "Bruce didn't let me out of his sight. He hardly let me fight, always taking out the criminal before I had a chance."_

_"That sounds like Bruce," I commented._

_Tim nodded. "The first time I was allowed to go out on my own, I was so excited. I finally got to prove myself as Robin, the Boy Wonder." Tim scoffed. "But the very second I got surrounded by punks, Dick drops in and takes care of the situation. Turns out, Bruce had Dick follow me and keep an eye on me. I didn't talk to either of them for a week. Bruce didn't get it until Alfred spelled it out for him."_

_"I think," I said, "ever since Jason's death, Bruce is scared to lose someone else. I mean, I know that Jason came back, but not everyone does. Bruce hasn't had an easy life."_

"Are you ready for bed?" Jason asks, pulling me out of the memory.

I look around the library to find that Barbara was gone and the wall clock said nine o'clock. I give Jason a nod and stand up. Immediately, I'm hit with searing pain in my lower abdominal region, causing me to double over.

"Ronnie!" Jason jumps towards me and puts his hands on my arms to balance me.

"I'm okay," I huff. "I'm okay."

Jason throws me a skeptical look. "Let's get you to bed."

I nod and let him carry me to the bedroom.

Jason falls asleep right away. I, on the other hand, toss and turn. Just when I close my eyes and get close to sleep, the pain hits me. After the fifth or sixth time, I've figured out that the pain is contractions. To make sure it's not false labor, I grab the clock off my nightstand and count the minutes.

_10:38. 10:52. 11:06. 11:18. 11:30. 11:42. 11:54. 12:04. 12:14. 12:22. 12:30. 12:38. 12:44._

Around two o'clock, the contractions hit five minutes steadily. I know it's time.

"Jason," I shake him. He doesn't wake up. I say a little louder, "Jason!" Still, he doesn't stir. That's it. I make a fist and bring it down hard on Jason's shoulder.

He shoots up, gun in hand.

"Jason," I say, my voice strained, "it's time."

His eyes widen. "Are you serious?"

I narrow my own eyes. "No, I'm just kidding. Go back to sleep." I slap Jason on the back of the head. "Yes, I'm serious!"

"Sorry." Jason grabs the phone off of his nightstand and dials the extension to Alfred's room. "Alfred, it's time. The baby's coming." Jason pauses as Alfred speaks. "Regency Room? Gotcha." Jason jumps up out of bed and comes over to me, lifting me up. He carries me down several hallways until we reach the Regency Room.

Alfred is already there, stripping down the bed with Tim. Bruce comes in with extra pillows just as Jason sets me down on the bed. Bruce and Jason place the pillows behind my back so I'm sitting up.

"I'm here," Dr. Thompkins calls when she enters the room. She places a stand under my legs that lift them up. Then she goes into the bathroom to scrub down and comes back with gloves on. She lifts the blanket Alfred had put over my legs. "How far apart are the contractions?"

"They were five minutes apart, but I think their getting closer."

Dr. Thompkins replaces the blanket. "She's just starting to dilate. She's definitely in active labor."

"So, how long until the baby comes?" Jason asks.

"No way to tell," Dr. Thompkins answers. "Active labor can last eight hours, maybe more."

"Great," I moan. So, Dr. Thompkins hooks me up to the fetal monitors and we wait.

Jason stays by my side, handing me water when I'm thirsty or reading to me when I need to take my mind off of the contractions.

"Brings back memories," Dr. Thompkins muses. I ask her what she means. She smiles, "I delivered Bruce in this room."

Three hours later and four centimeters dilated, Dick bursts into the room.

"Did I miss it?" he asks between breaths.

"She's not even close," Jason says, a little bit of hostility in his voice.

Dick sighs and steps towards Jason. "Look, Jason. I'm sorry about what I had said. That wasn't fair to you. And you're gonna make a great father."

Jason stands up and holds out his hand. "Thank you."

Dick returns the handshake and nods.

Over the course of _another_ three hours, Barbara arrives and the pain increases. Sweat starts pouring down my face causing my hair to stick to my cheeks and forehead.

Dr. Thompkins checks how dilated I am and smiles. "It's time."

Jason grabs my right hand as Barbara grabs the other. My breath starts coming quicker and my heartbeat jumps up quickly.

"Okay," Dr. Thompkins says, trying to calm me down, "I need you to breathe like how I told you to and when I say 'push' push as hard as you can. Remember to breathe through the push and keep the tension out of your face." I nod. "Okay, good… push!"

I push. It hurts! Tears roll down my cheeks and I want to give up, maybe scream at someone to just put the baby back in.

"That was good, Ronnie," Dr. Thompkins encourages. "Breathe. Okay, it's time for another one. And push!"

As I push, I squeeze both Jason's and Barbara's hands. I'm sure to them it wasn't as hard as I thought I was squeezing.

"Good, good," Dr. Thompkins nods. "One more, Ronnie. One more good push."

No. no I can't take it. I shake my head. "I can't. I can't do it."

"You're doing just fine," Dr. Thompkins urges. "I need just one more push."

I keep shaking my head.

Jason leans down and whispers in my ear, "You're doing great, Ronnie. You are so brave and in one more push you are going to be a great mom. I love you, Ronnie. You can do it."

It's just what I need. I take a breath and push as hard as I can. As soon as I let go, Dr. Thompkins' smile grows.

"You did great, Ronnie. You can relax now."

"What is it?" I ask, craning my neck to see my baby.

Dr. thompkins holds the newborn up.

Jason laughs beside me and I hear Bruce smirk. I hold out my arms, reaching for my baby. Dr. Thompkins wraps a blanket around the little thing and places my baby in my arms. Once in my arms, I trace the little nose with my finger.

I whisper, "Welcome to the world, Jensen Todd."


	13. Here Comes Mother

Jensen may weigh seven pounds and six ounces, but that doesn't deter any of us. The only time Jensen is ever put down is when everyone reluctantly goes to sleep. I hardly ever got to hold him myself. But we all loved him, that's all that matters.

I have to keep the crib in Jason's and my room because the nursery isn't finished yet. That doesn't stop almost everyone rushing into the room when Jensen cries.

If anyone "hogs" the baby, it's Jason. I have countless pictures of him holding Jensen, playing with Jensen, and even taking a nap with Jensen. And it's only been a week. It is nice to know I don't have to do all the work myself, but it would be nice to be able to do _more_ of the work myself.

"Can I please have my baby back?" I laugh as Jason finishes reading a chapter of Harry Potter to Jensen.

"No need to be selfish, Ronnie," Jason says only partly joking. I march over to him and gently pluck Jensen out of his arms.

"First of all, you've held him more than I have. Second of all, it's feeding time."

Jason makes a face, "Fine."

He follows me as I exit the living room and walk to the kitchen. Once there, I take a bottle out of the refrigerator and place it under the faucet running hot water.

"Jensen is going to be so spoiled when he gets older," I comment as I feed him.

Jason laughs. "Why would you say that?"

"Because he always get attention whenever he wants it. Six adults constantly around him…." I drift off, thinking about the adults I wish could be here.

Jason walks up to me and cups my chin with his hand. "There's something bothering you isn't there?"

Jason knows me too well. Sometimes it can be really scary. I look down at Jensen, so happy to be in my arms with my father's eyes looking up at me.

"We have the most loving family here, but– but he needs to know his other family. I want him to know my mother and– hopefully, someday– my brother."

"So, you want to tell your mom the truth?" Jason asks. I nod. "Okay, then," he says, rubbing the back of his neck. "It'll take some convincing, but I'll go get Bruce." As Jason leaves the kitchen I hear him mutter, "I'm never gonna get to hold my kid again."

Whether he meant that my mother would never put Jensen down or that my mother might rip Jason apart, I don't know. Thinking about it, I don't know which my mother will do either.

*()*()*()*()*

Now it's my turn to pace.

Jensen is asleep in my arms, all wrapped up in a little red blanket. Bruce had called my mother, asking her to come to the manor. He didn't tell her anything. Bruce said that was my job.

I can just imagine the scenarios going through my mother's head as she drives up to the manor. Each one is worse than the last.

Right now, I'm waiting in a small brandy room that connects to a larger room with plenty of chairs and couches in case my mother "needs to take a seat." A.k.a. she might faint. Her eighteen-year-old daughter _did_ just have a baby in two months.

"_What's going on, Alfred?_" I heard Mom say.

Oh, no. Here it comes.

Alfred doesn't answer her. Instead, he knocks on the door that leads to my hiding place. The signal for me to come out. I take a few deep breaths and exit the room.

"Bruce, you called me here, so you have better let me see my daughter–" Mom stops when she sees me.

Bruce sends me a grateful look.

Mom runs up to me. "Oh, thank goodness! I don't care if it prepares you for college; you are never allowed to go away like that again." She reaches for me to pull me into a hug, but I take a step back. Confused, Mom finally notices the blanket bundle in my arms. "What are you holding?"

I chew on the inside of my cheek.

"Mom, I wasn't at a college prep course with Tim. I've been here, at Wayne Manor, the whole time. Well, a majority of the time."

As if right on que, Jensen lets out a small sneeze.

"Ronnie," Mom says thickly, "what are you holding?"

I sit Mom down on one of the couches. I look down at Jensen and loosen the blanket, allowing his little hands to peek through. "Mom, this is your grandson, Jensen."

At first, Mom's eyes start to water at the mention of my father's name, but then she shakes her head. "No. No, there is no possible way you were pregnant!" She stands up, "I would have noticed! I know I hadn't been around much, but–"

I grab her wrist. "Mom, don't do that to yourself."

The door behind Bruce opens up and Jason walks in. Mom turns to see him.

"Who's that?" she asks me.

I stand up and walk over to Jason. Facing my mother, I say, "Mom, this is Jason, Bruce's adopted son and Jensen's father."

For a moment she stands there, her mouth open. Then she sighs.

"I don't know if I'm scared out of my mind because my daughter is a teenage mother, or relieved because it seems you are finally over that Red Hood fellow."

Jason smirks beside me. I elbow him and pray my mother didn't notice.

"Mom," I grab her hand, giving Jensen over to a happy Jason and sit down on a couch with Mom beside me, "before you think your daughter jumped off the deep end, let me explain what happened."

And I do. Well, sort of. I change certain points and details in order to keep Bruce's other identity, along with everyone else's, a secret from my mom. As far as she's concerned, Bruce worked with Commissioner Gordon to track down my phone's location, then the latter sent Batman to come rescue me. I didn't want Mom to be in danger, so Bruce volunteered to protect me for as long as I need it. Oh, and Jason's DNA has an oddity that mixed well with mine.

When I finish, Mom just sits there for a few seconds and then pulls me into her arms. "I'm so glad that you're safe and that–"

"I know, Mom. I know," I interrupt, not really wanting to hear her say how glad she is that I'm not lovesick over Red Hood anymore. It's getting harder and harder to lie to her.

Mom pulls away and stands up. "Now. Let me see my grandson."

Jason reluctantly hands Jensen over to Mom. She rocks Jensen for a minute or two before looking up at me. "Aren't you going to go get your things, Ronnie?"

I tilt my head to the side. "Why?"

"So we can go home," she says as-a-matter-of-factly.

_But I want to stay here. _Technically, I'm eighteen, so I can stay, which I want to, but I can't tell my mother that. It'd break her heart if she thought I preferred living it rich that in our small apartment, which isn't true. I don't want her to be alone, but I like living here at Wayne Manor, with Jason. With Jensen finally here, it's like the family has finally been complete. I can't take Jensen away from Jason; that would break _his_ heart.

For a second, I want to ask Bruce if Mom can move into the manor, but I know that's out of the question. It wouldn't take her long to figure everything out. I know Bruce won't want to take that chance.

I open my mouth to release whatever decision escapes me, but when Bruce intersects.

"They haven't caught the person behind Ronnie's kidnapping, so it's still not safe for her to return home."

Mom's face falls, but she nods in acceptance.

I place my hand on her shoulder. "It'll be okay. You can come see Jensen and me anytime you want." I sneak a peek at Bruce. "Just ring ahead first."

My mother nods in reluctant agreement.

I still hate keeping her in the dark, but it's safer. For everyone.


	14. Worst Nightmare

"I still don't like this," Jason grumbles as he stands in the doorway of the finished nursery.

"You'll be fine," I whisper, trying not to wake Jensen from his afternoon nap. I pull the blanket up closer to Jensen's chin and then walk over to Jason. "He's right next door to us. And they say _mothers_ are over protective."

Jason cups his fingers around my chin. "Shut up." He kisses me and lets go of my chin. But I want more.

I grab Jason by his shirt with both hands, bawling my fists into the cloth near his round collar. I drag him into our own bedroom. With my foot I close the door while, with my hand on the back of his neck, I pull Jason so his lips meet mine.

At first, Jason was hesitant, his mouth confused and slow going against mine. But a little encouragement from me and he was all in.

My fingers find the bottom of Jason's shirt and pull it over his head. Jason's own fingers slip off my flannel button-down, leaving me in my tank top.

Jason groans as we work our way over to the bed. My hands explore the muscles of Jason's chest and back as he nibbles at my neck. A giggle escapes from me.

Things take an unexpected turn, however, as my fingers fumble with Jason's belt. He sighs and pulls away from me.

"What are you doing?" I ask as Jason picks his shirt up off the floor.

"One of us has to remember how old you are," he answers as he pulls the shirt over his head. "You'd be mad once it was over." He goes over to the door.

"Wow," I murmur, completely deflated. "I feel completely rejected."

Jason pauses with his hand on the doorknob. "Wait. You _want_ to?"

My face flushes as I nod.

Jason smiles a warm, loving smile. "Well, then. Aren't I the idiot?"

I shrug, "Maybe I wasn't communicating the right signals earlier?"

Jason's smile grows and his hand turns the lock. He walks, removing his shirt once again. I lift up my own shirt and throw it to the side of the bed. Jason joins me in the bed and we pick things up where we left off.

*()*()*()*()*

I can feel myself smiling as I sleep. Earlier Jason had kept asking if I was okay as I slipped into a lacy tank top and boy-cut underwear.

I assured him I was fine and then threatened to shoot him when he wouldn't stop asking.

But now I'm peacefully sleeping in Jason's arms, his soft breath caressing my neck.

_Crash!_

I shoot up, startled by a something that sounded like broken glass. I'm about to ignore it when I hear Jensen's cries and screams.

"Jensen," I yell. My shriek wakes Jason out of his own deep sleep. I don't look back to see if he's following me as I run into Jensen's room. I rattle the doorknob.

It's locked.

"Stand back," Jason says behind me.

I do as he says and he swings his leg to kick down the door. That's when the gunfire starts.

Three men dressed in all black and body armor were in the nursery. I can't enter without risking harm to myself and that would make me useless to my son. So instead, all I can do is stand here helplessly as I watch one of the men slip out of the broken window with Jensen in his arms.

As soon as it's clear, Jason starts shooting.

With the other men distracted, I slide under the gunfire and hit the closest kidnapper in the shins with my feet, sending him to the ground. The gun flies from his hand. I quickly grab the gun by the barrel, flicking the safety on with my pinkie, and jam the grip into his face, causing his nose to bleed.

The man tries to wrestle the gun from me, but I put up a fight. He twists my hands so the gun faces my upper arm. Focused on not letting him take the gun from me, I didn't notice that he had flipped the safety back. All I see is his finger flicking the trigger and then _bang!_

I feel the bullet rip the skin off my arm. I take a quick look and see that the bullet had just grazed my arm. With all my strength, I shove on the gun, hitting the man right between the eyes, dazing him just long enough.

I flip the gun, barrel back into my hand, and I knock the handle into the back of his head, causing him to black out.

I look up just in time to see the other intruder jump out of the window. I scramble up and run to the window, but both kidnappers are gone.

"What the hell just happened?" Bruce huffed as he stood in the doorway, Tim standing right behind him.

With tears in my eyes, I turn around and say, "Jensen's gone. They took him."


	15. Perfect Fit

The one kidnapper I was able to knockout and capture is currently locked up in Gordon's precinct .

Myself? I'm pacing back and forth in front of the computer in the Batcave, waiting for the Batboys to return.

Tim had the idea to go back to warehouse and look around. Jason didn't think anyone, or anything at all, would be there, but it wouldn't hurt. Any little crumb could help find Jensen.

The Batmobile comes spinning in followed by Jason on his motorcycle. Bruce and Tim jump out, Bruce pulling down his cowl. Jason removes his helmet.

I ran up to them, "Bruce–"

"I'm sorry, Ronnie," Bruce said. "There was nothing there."

My anger and frustration, that had been building since this morning, explodes and I let it all out through my fist connecting with the wall. Cracks form where they connected.

"The sun has set and the one we were able to capture is awake and ready for questioning," Bruce informs me. I hadn't realized that it was so late.

"I'm going with you," I state.

"No," Bruce orders. "You'll give our identities away."

"They already know who we are, Bruce," I counter.

"I meant to the precinct. It's one short jump from you to me."

My face falls. "Bruce. This is t's one short jump from you to me."

My face falls. "Bruce. This is _my_ baby. Please, let me go."

Bruce replaces his cowl and becomes Batman once again. "No. That's final." He jumps back into the Batmobile without Tim and drives off.

"Dick and Barbara are out on the streets, trying to get any leads they can," Tim says, trying to comfort me. He walks past Alfred on his way up the stairs.

Alfred looks from me to Jason. "Is it time, Master Jason?"

At first, Jason doesn't answer, but then, after a few seconds, he gets a strange smile on his face and nods.

To me, Alfred says, "Follow me, Miss Reid, if you please."

I do and we make our way to the uniform housing. We walk through after the door slides open. My jaw drops in awe, I've never been in here before.

Different types of Batsuits for everything from underwater breathing to camouflage lined the walls in separate pods. Alfred stops near the end of the room in front of an empty pod labeled "Batgirl." He types in a code and the pod slowly turns around to reveal another uniform.

"I had this made when you first moved in, Miss Reid," Alfred explains as he presses a button for the glass to slide away. "I knew it was only a matter of time."

I step forward and inspect the uniform.

The shirt is made up of a leather-body armor combination. I smile at the red bat on the chest that matched the one Jason wears. I bend down to look at the pants. They were some type of nylon that'll easily fit under the knee-high black leather boots. A black leather waist-length jacket with red lining accompanies the look.

I turn to compliment Alfred's work, but I find that he's gone. Guess there's only one thing to do.

Everything is a perfect fit. After slipping on the boots I discover there's a box inside the pod. Inside I discover a red metal utility belt with two thigh holsters securely attached. I buckle them into place and walk out.

Jason lets out a low whistle. "You did good, Alfred."

"Yes," Alfred chuckles, "but something is missing." He walks up to me, holding out a silver tray. Resting on the tray are two .22 Smith & Wesson pistols separated by a black mask like Tim's.

I pick up one of the .22s and release the magazine. I smile.

"Rubber bullets, Alfred?"

"I figured you would be less inclined to mortally wound an enemy than Master Jason is," he replies.

I replace the magazine and holster the guns. I bite my bottom lip as I lift up the mask. And hesitate.

"Go on, Miss Reid," Alfred encourages.

I place the mask on my face. Like everything else, it's a perfect fit. I walk over to Jason at the computer.

"I can't believe you're okay with this," I say.

"You know I've always admired a girl who can kick some butt," Jason flirts. Our baby can be missing and Jason still flirts. It's actually very comforting.

I laugh, "So, are you ready?"

Jason shakes his head. "I'm staying here. Bruce would expect me to disobey orders and go to the precinct, but a new vigilante? He'll never see that coming."

Tim comes back down the stairs.

"Hey, I was just thinking and–" he stops when he sees me. "Bruce is not going to like this."

"He didn't really like the idea of you in the beginning either, Master Tim." You've got to love Alfred's sass.

"Yeah, but he needed a new Robin," Tim argues.

"I say you had it easy, Tim," I add in. "You were filling in shoes, knowing exactly who you were going to be. When I talk to Gordon, he's going to want to know who I am," I say as I pull my hair back into a low ponytail. "What am I supposed to say? 'I'm just a new Bat sidekick?'"

"Well, Batgirl's taken," Tim says unhelpfully.

"Darkstrike?" Jason suggests. I wrinkle my nose at that one.

Tim offers, "Redbat?" I shake my head.

Alfred clears his throat to get our attention. "I like Redwing, personally."

I give him a peck on the cheek. "Alfred, you're a genius."

"How do you think this family would function without me?"

"Here," Jason tosses me a small earpiece. "It's a two-way radio. We can hear you just as much as you can hear us."

I place the radio in my ear. As I braid my ponytail and tie it off, I inform Jason, "I'm talking your bike."

Jason looks scared. "But–"

"A little advice, Master Jason," Alfred says. "When the woman says that something is going to happen, even if you don't want it to, it will come to pass."

Jason throws Alfred a look as he tosses me the keys. He sighs as I straddle "his baby." The engine roars when I turn the key and I smile.

"Time to fly."


	16. Vigilante

"_You're going to need to get ahold of Commissioner Gordon,_" Jason says in my ear over the com-link while I drive down the streets of Gotham. "_Your best bet is to turn on the Batsignal. He'd be there in a flash and Batman won't know it's on._"

"Copy that," I answer as I turn and head for the precinct. I park the bike in the shadows and stand in the alley looking up at the roof.

"Help me!" a woman screams in the distance. "Somebody, please, help me!"

"I'm gonna need to take a detour, Red," I say.

"_But–_"

"Shush."

I sneak my way around the corner to find a mugger pinning a woman to a brick wall with a knife to her throat.

"Might as well stay quiet," the mugger-creep hisses, "'cause nobody cares about your screams."

"I wouldn't say that," I argue. "Us girls have to stick together."

"Oh great," the mugger scoffs dropping the poor woman to the ground, "there's another one of you. Can the bats stop reproducing?"

I smirk. The mugger comes at me, but I make short work of him, kicking him in the stomach and then the nose while he's bent over. I use a zip-cuff to tie him to an exposed pipe and pick up his knife. I walk over to the woman, handing her the knife.

"Always carry pepper spray," I tell her. "And knee them in the balls. It's their weakest point."

"Thank you," the woman smiles. "Who are you?"

"I'm Redwing," I answer before I take off and make my way to the roof of the precinct.

I find the switch to the Batsignal and flip it on, waiting. I cross my arms and my eyes wander to the signal in the sky.

As a kid, when I looked up and saw the bat, I knew help was on the way to whoever needed it. Now I'm the one on their way to help, even if the one who needs help is my son.

"What are you doing up here?"

I stiffen and the hair on the back of my neck stands up at the voice.

"_Redwing, who is that_?"

I turn around slowly. _Please, _please_ don't recognize me. _

"You're not Commissioner Gordon," I say, deepening my voice just an octave so he doesn't recognize me.

A laugh. "No, he's a little busy. I'm Detective Reid. How can I help you?" Carson's voice seems a little strained. He must still extremely dislike vigilantes.

_And he's been promoted. Mom never told me that. _

"_Tell him that you can't reach Batman so you need an update_," Tim suggests.

"My communication with Batman is down and I need an update on the situation downstairs," I repeat, adding in a few details.

"How do I know you're with Batman and not trying to stage a breakout?" Carson asks. "What do they even call you?"

I take a deep breath. "The name's Redwing and the man in your basement helped kidnap my baby."

Carson raises an eyebrow. "Well, then. Why don't you come with me and I'll reestablish communication with Batman."

"_Do it_," Jason orders. "_If you don't, he'll be suspicious. Batman can yell at me when you get back._"

"You better keep your word on that," I mutter.

Carson turns to look at me, "Excuse me?"

"Nothing," I cover quickly. If that can be considered a cover.

He turns back around and leads me through the precinct. It was late at night so not many detectives are around, but there's still some left to stop and stare at me. I caught one cop checking me out. I would have ignored it, but as soon as he whistles at me, I flip him off. Not good for appearances, but I'm not in the mood to deal with this. I'm probably on my way to get my butt chewed out.

Carson leads me down a flight of stairs into the basement and to a metal door.

"Through here," Carson opens the door and motions me in.

I walk through the door, ready for the yell at. But Bruce is already questioning the man. Commissioner Gordon is watching thoughtfully through the one-way mirror.

Carson walks past me and whispers in Gordon's ear, "Got another one. Says her name is Redwing and it was her baby that was kidnapped."

Gordon looks at me and holds out his hand. "Glad you're here, Redwing. I'm sorry about what's happened. Batman has filled me in on the situation."

I take his hand. "I want him back–"

_Bang!_

Bruce had shoved the kidnapper into the mirror.

"Give me the address!" Bruce orders in his signature Batman voice.

"Okay, okay. I will. I will!" the man gives in, his voice full of panic. Even I know that Bruce would never do any _permanent _damage.

"You heard him," Gordon says to Carson. Carson pulls a notepad and pen out of his inside jacket pocket and enters the interview room right as Batman is exiting.

"Seems your partner, Redwing, showed up just in time," Gordon said to Batman.

Bruce turns to look at me. I can feel his disapproving gaze through his cowl.

"It seems so," is all he says.

Carson comes back a few seconds later with the address. He hands it to Batman.

"Need any help tracking the place down?" Carson volunteers.

"No."

Carson rolls his eyes and exits the room.

Bruce looks at me. "Redwing?"

I don't answer.

"Lot of tension in the room," Gordon says, looking back through the mirror. "Do you two–"

We're gone before he can finish his sentence.

*()*()*()*()*

"You deliberately disobeyed me," Bruce yells.

"Thanks for pointing out the obvious, Mufasa," I mumble.

We're back at the Cave, including Dick and Barbara, and we all were getting the third degree.

"What harm was done, Bruce?" I ask out loud. I answer myself, "Oh that's right: none! In fact, I saved someone's life!"

"And Alfred," Bruce continued, ignoring me, "if you don't stop this, half of Gotham will be vigilantes, running around and making base in the Cave. And you might be out on a permanent vacation."

"You and I both know that sooner or later Miss Reid would have wished to join, it's in her blood," Alfred says, not missing a beat.

"This isn't the time, Alfred," Bruce argues.

I don't get why he continues. Everyone here knows that my suit isn't going back into storage any time soon.

"Computer's got a match," Tim calls. I rush over, along with everyone else. "Address belongs to a Daniel Borgon. Billionaire."

"Figures," Dick mutters. "He'd have to be in order to fund the scientists."

I purse my lips. "Let's go. If Jensen's not there, Mr. Borgon can tell us where his is." I look over at Bruce. "No way am I staying here."

"Last thing we need is you getting hurt or in the way," he says.

"Tim's been training me since I found out about you all. And I think I proved I could handle my own tonight," I reply. "I'll be fine."

Bruce sighs. "Can you guarantee you'll keep your head?"

I nod once. "Yes, sir."

"Fine. You'll come." Bruce says to Tim, "You'll stay here."

"But–"

"We need someone to be here and control the computers."

"Alright," Tim grumbles.

Jason comes up behind me and places his hand on my back. In my ear, he whispers, "Let's go get our son back."


	17. Rescue

The mansion is just what I expected it to be: Big, expensive, castle-like, and overcompensating.

"There's two guards at each tower and six covering the grounds," Bruce says when he lowers his binoculars. "Batgirl, take the southeast tower. Nightwing, the southwest tower. Red Hood, Redwing, and I will take the ground."

We all nod in agreement. Batgirl and Nightwing slip away into the darkness. Jason finds my hand and gives it a squeeze before we do the same.

With Batman going right and Jason going left, I'm given the two frontal guards. I find my first guard right away near the edge of the trees. I attack him from behind. He wrestles and struggles, but I eventually send a kick to his head, knocking him out cold.

"_Got my two down, out and tied up,_" Batgirl boasts over the link.

"_Copy that,_" Nightwing says, "_Same here._"

A few seconds later, Jason breaks in to let us know of his conquest. I know Batman is already done and is waiting so I don't feel too slow.

Irritated, I find the last guard near a front window and just ram his gun into his face, subduing him.

"All done," I say drily.

"_Alarm is disabled,_" Tim informs us.

I open the window and crawl through. I see a shadow that seems to be holding a gun coming down a hallway. I crouch down and at the right time, trip the guard. Once he's down, I send my elbow into his nose.

_I'm doing pretty good for myself_, I think as I walk down the hallway.

I check so many rooms, but no one seems to be around. Then, at the end of a long hallway I find a locked room. I eye the lock closely and then kick the door open.

"Who's there?" a frail voice calls out.

I don't answer. Instead I look around the room. It's like the climax of a bad action movie with the almost empty room except for the chair facing away from the door and the only light coming from the fireplace.

The frail voice repeats, "Who's there?"

"A very angry mother," I answer softly. I take out one of my guns and grip it with both hands as I slowly approach the chair. The voice may be old, but you never know exactly what the danger may be.

"You have something of mine," I say sharply when I reach the back of the chair.

"You must be Roselyn Reid," the voice guesses with a chuckle.

The hair on the back of my neck shoots up. I come around to the front of the chair and I'm not surprised.

A frail old man hooked up to an oxygen tank is the owner of the voice.

"You just had to be the cliché, didn't you, Mr. Borgon?" I ask as I holster my gun. I don't take my hand off of it, though. "The old man afraid to die hires a bunch of greedy scientists to find immortality for him."

"Ha," Borgon laughs. "You think you know it all."

"At this point, I really don't care about your motives," I growl. "I all I care about is getting my baby back."

"I'm not an old man," Borgon says mysteriously.

"Excuse me?"

"I'm forty-two years old," Borgon clarifies. "I have a degenerative disease that ages me quickly. I hired Tonya and her team to find a cure. Your son happens to be my cure."

"If you can divide cells quickly you can reverse the aging process by having more cells grow than cells that are dying, rejuvenating your body," I guess. Yeah, I paid attention in biology.

"Yes. Tonya begins her tests soon."

"You're not testing on Jensen like a lab rat!"

I let my anger get the best of me. I didn't notice Borgon taking a grip on his cane and take a swing at my shins. I fall hard.

"I may be old in appearance," Borgon says as he stands up, "but I know a few moves of my own." He pulls a gun out of his inside jacket pocket. "I won't let you stop the experiments. I won't let you." He takes aim and shoots. Roll out of the way just in time.

I kick the cane out from under his hand. Borgon wobbles a little. It's enough of a distraction that I get to my feet. I round kick the gun out of his hand and pounce. He lands hard on his back and I pin him under my knees.

"Where. Is. My. Son," I say through clenched teeth. "Tell me and I won't make the next several minutes of your life hell." When he doesn't answer, I dig my knee into his side, cracking a rib. He cries out in pain. "Tell me."

With a disgusted and hateful look, Borgon gives in. "The basement."

I scoff and reach down to his oxygen hose, pinching is closed. I don't let go until he's completely under. "Thank you, for your cooperation."

I run out of the room and right into Jason, who must have heard the gunshots.

"He's in the basement," is all I say before we start running. Jason relays the information over the link.

Naturally, the basement door is locked, but that's easily handled with one of Jason's bullets.

The basement is empty of people, but filled with equipment and chemicals. I run, weaving and bobbing through the machines. I stop when I see the back of a blond-haired woman.

"Look who got out of jail," I sing-song, "Tonya."

Tonya turns around to reveal Jensen lying on the table and wailing, thankfully not hooked up to wires and machines.

"Courtesy of my employer," Tonya smirks. "You can't stop us, Ronnie."

Behind her, Jason sneaks around, grabs her and knocks her head against his helmet, just like last time. I throw him a look.

"I wanted to get this over with," he shrugs.

I smile and pick up my son, who was still crying loudly.

"It's okay, baby," I whisper. "Mommy's here."


	18. Reconcile

"Yes, Mom, everything is fine," I say for the third time into my cellphone which was currently wedged between my ear and shoulder as I tugged on my boot.

"_Okay. You sound a little strange, that's all._" Mom says. "_Oh, by the way, Commissioner Gordon informed me that they caught the people who had kidnapped you._"

_Crap._ I kind of didn't want her know. Not quite yet.

I sigh. "Yeah, they did. All thanks to Batman."

"_Batman?_" Mom repeats. "_The Commissioner mentioned someone named 'Redwing'?_"

I flinch, although I'm somewhat flattered that Gordon had also mentioned me. "Yeah, I think she's one of Batman's new partners."

"_Yes, well…_," Mom pauses. "_Will I see you this weekend?_"

I freeze. What does she mean by 'this weekend'? It's Tuesday night. I'm amazed she isn't demanding me back home this very second.

When I don't answer, Mom explains, "_Honey, I understand that you don't want to move back in with me._"

I'm stunned. "You do?"

"_Yes, I do. You have your own family now, with Jason and Jensen. I wouldn't want to split that up and I know the three of you would be more comfortable with Bruce. Just promise me that you'll come over for dinner every now and then_," Mom demands. "_This weekend, perhaps_?"

I giggle. "Yeah, Mom, of course."

"_I love you, sweetheart._"

"I love you, too, Mom." _Click_.

I put down my cell and join the others by the Cave's computer.

"You know, I honestly didn't think you'd stick with it," Dick admits.

I shrug, "Once I got a taste being the hero, I just can't get off of it. The adrenaline and feeling of victory and serving justice, no matter how small, is just too good." I grin. "And it's not like Bruce can stop me."

"Good thing he's already out on patrol," Dick teases. The computer alarm signaling that the Batsignal is switched on goes off. "Maybe I stand corrected."

"_Batman to Nightwing_," Bruce says over the computer's com-link, "_send Redwing to answer the signal_."

"Copy that," I answer before Dick can as I slip on my mask. "Almost nothing gets past him."

"_Almost_ nothing," Jason clarifies. He smiles a crooked smile and gives me a kiss on the cheek.

*()*()*()*()*

It isn't Commissioner Gordon waiting on the rooftop.

It was Carson.

"I was kind of hoping it was you," he says.

"Why's that?" I ask, leaning against the ledge.

"You seem more likely to follow the law," he shrugs. "Look, it seems that Penguin minght be starting to deal in the underworld crimes again. Every time we send in a rat, he sniffs it out. Our last one went missing. Figured you could give us an upper hand and find our missing cop."

"I'll get right on it," I promise. I get on the ledge and crouch down, ready to jump.

"You remind me of my sister," Carson says suddenly.

I turn my face to look at him. "What?"

"My sister. You remind me of her," Carson repeats. "Her attitude, her spirit, her sense of right and wrong. It's very similar. I haven't seen her in months, though."

"Why?" I already know the answer.

"We got in a fight. A bad one."

"I think it's time to forgive and forget," I say. "Besides, you obviously miss her. Maybe she misses you, too."

Carson cocks his head to the side, a smile tugging at his lips. "You think so?"

"You're the detective," I answer. "Follow your gut. Let go of your pride."

"You must be a therapist in your other life," Carson jokes.

I laugh. "Therapists don't give advice. Go to her. Say you're sorry, she'll say it back."

"Looking back," Carson says, "I realize that my sister was the one who was right. She sees the good in people that everyone else thinks is bad to the core. And now that person is helping Gotham."

"Girls are less hardheaded than boys," I respond. "Good luck with your sister. I'm sure everything will be fine." And with that, I step off the roof and glide down the fire escapes.

My life is putting itself back together and all I see in the future is bliss.

**AN: That's the end of Part 2. I really hop you enjoyed it. Part 3 will be up in the next few days, so keep an eye out for Facing the Night. **

**Edit: If you're looking for Part 3, I changed the title to "Shade of Red." It fit more appropriately after writing a few chapters. **


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